Currently, the majority of users retrieve remote voicemails by manually calling a voicemail server controlled by a network operator. The voicemail server generates a synthetic voice announcing the number of stored messages to the user and then sequentially replays the stored messages. Further, if a user desires to delete and/or replay a message, the user must manually enter the correct input, such as, “press 3 to reply” and “press 7 to delete”. This process does not allow a user to quickly retrieve a desired voicemail, especially if there are numerous stored voice messages prior to the desired voicemail.
Some service providers have introduced visual voicemail as alternative to the above process. Visual voicemail adds a visual aspect to phone voicemail by displaying information about a stored voicemail, such as, a caller's name, the calling number, the time of the call, and the length of the message. Further, visual voicemail allows users to listen to their messages in the order of their choice. Additionally, some visual voicemail applications convert a received voicemail into text using speech recognition software to enable a user to view the voicemail as a text message.